


Sunrise

by Hator



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Existential Angst, Loss, mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:31:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hator/pseuds/Hator
Summary: When he was a boy he’d watch all these different cartoon shows that featured talking animals.Strangely enough, it had never occurred to him as odd. It was probably because they had always been cartoons. Now he was faced with the same concept but in reality and he realized how truly strange of a concept it was. It made him wonder how he could have ever accepted it as a child.Funny, how this very cat was the beginning of it all.He had just barely touched the sky, his fingers had been stretched towards the sun and now...The fall.





	Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> _Promise me you'll stay beyond the Sunrise_

The morning sun shone softly through the closed blinds of Leblanc and for a moment Yogen-Jaya seemed to be catching its breath before preparing for a busy day. Soon the streets would be full of noise and people but for now it was quiet and quiet was good. The silence made every soft noise sound like a disturbance so he made sure not to pick up his teacup and place it anywhere but the wooden bar. He would hate to disturb the day before it had fully woken up.

He sat at the empty bar and took to reading the labels on each jar of coffee before a creak of the staircase -accompanied by a soft jingling- interrupted him. There, sitting at the top of the stairs was a small black and white cat with a bright yellow collar around its neck. He knew from personal experience that if he stepped closer he’d see the collar had several tags on it. The biggest one shone silver and had “Morgana” etched on one side with “Please don’t pet me!” etched on the reverse side. He remembered how _they'd_ argued about the tag being unnecessary but Sojiro insisted on covering his bases and letting the cafe’s customers know about the cat’s temperamental demeanor. This tag was accompanied by several other medical tags ensuring patrons that while he may not be very friendly, the cat _was_ healthy and it was safe to keep around their coffee and curry. 

The cat stopped for a second when it realized he had noticed it but instead of going back up, he continued his descent. Each step taken accompanied with the tags tinkling against each other. 

“Hey...It seems like you’re yourself today. I’m glad.”

He was never going to get used to that voice coming out of that cat’s mouth. 

When he was a boy he’d watch all these different cartoon shows that featured talking animals and strangely enough, it had never occurred to him as odd. It was probably because they had always been cartoons. Now that he was being faced with the same concept in reality, he realized how truly strange it was. It made him wonder how he could have ever accepted it as a child.

Funny, how this very feline was the beginning of it all. 

He had just barely touched the sky, his fingers had been stretched towards the sun and now... 

“Akechi? Did you hear me?” 

He didn’t bother opening his mouth. There was no point.

“I know ...I know I can’t hear you. But I was thinking last night and maybe I can read your lips! Do you want to give it a try?” 

He turned away from the feline’s bright blue gaze. That suggestion didn’t even deserve a response.

He stared at the coffee cup. It was empty. Always empty. 

But sometimes he could just barely grasp the small handle...And he was back. He was still sitting at the bar, in this same chair but the night sky would cover Tokyo like a blanket and Sojiro-san would be standing at the bar cleaning glasses or stirring the curry pot. He himself would sit at the bar and work through a crossword puzzle or ponder over a case file or do his homework...Sometimes he’d just sit there while sipping his steaming hot coffee and stare at the wall, reading the labels, much like he did now. Simply taking comfort in the dark and quiet atmosphere the cafe had to offer. 

Then _he_ would come in, reality holding the door open. And suddenly Akechi would have to go, spouting a quick excuse and practically running out of the cafe. He wished he could stay. But he couldn’t. Not then. 

“Akechi, did you hear me? You can still hear me right?”

Yes, of course, he could hear the cat. That was the entire problem. 

Working with Morgana had been a rather peculiar experience. He seemed to be full of contradictions and in that Akechi truly understood him. A tuxedo cat who wasn’t really a cat and was insistent about his past as a human being. Morgana was loud and slightly obnoxious. He could be sympathetic but only towards certain people. He wasn’t shy letting people know he disliked them and by containing all these qualities he truly believed Morgana had been human at one point. But now that same stubborn cat sat on the barstool next to him, content being the cafe’s mascot. Akechi hadn’t really had stayed long enough to see if Morgana had truly remembered his past. Maybe he really was just a cat. 

“I can see you looking at me every time I speak….”

-A perceptive cat at that.

He rolled his eyes and turned to face the cat yet again. It had stayed sitting up in the exact same spot where he had last seen it. Morgana wasn’t particularly expressive but he could see ...Something in those unnaturally bright blue orbs. 

_“Hello Morgana”_

He turned away once more. He didn’t want this to work. God, how he didn’t want this to work. He only did it because he knew it probably wouldn't. While he was “speaking” the cat did seem rather confused. He could practically hear the gears turning in the furry feline’s head. 

“Good morning Akechi!”

He turned instantly and listened to the cat purr happily, _proud of itself_ , acting like it had accomplished something….

He leaned in close, his nose inches away from the cat’s muzzle and simply “said”

_“I don’t want to talk to you or anyone”_

The cat leaned back instinctively and his eyes were still wide when Akechi eventually pulled away. But then, that same confused expression from earlier had returned. 

“I’m sorry but you’re going to have to stay back if you want me to read your lips…”

If looks could kill, Morgana would have lost two of his nine lives in that very moment.

If he could, he would have growled at the source of his frustrations. He would have yelled at it. He would have picked it up by the scruff and thrown it out on the streets where it would have stayed. It deserved death but he’d grant it mercy. He’d let it live- albeit starving and searching the dumpsters of Tokyo for its next meal.

But he couldn’t do any of that anymore. So he rolled his eyes again and turned towards the door. Away from that **blasted** cat ...

This was its fault. _All his fault…_

“You don’t want to talk...Do you?”

No, he did not. 

If he had talked less, if he hadn’t talked at all, if he hadn’t talked to _him_ at all, if they had never even met…..

He wouldn’t be in this situation.

But they did and he was and now all he desperately wanted was to be left alone. He used to crave the limelight and the attention but he just wanted to sit here and glare at a coffee cup until everything stopped. 

“It’s a cycle, isn’t it ...How you…..Appear?”

The cat kneaded the bar cushion nervously. His little claws left pockmarks on the cushion and Akechi knew for a fact Sojiro-san would reprimand him for that later. 

“First you come to us as Loki…”

Anger. Hatred. Vindication. Pain. All of these coursed through him in those moments. He would appear and while he was black and white his vision itself was nothing but **red** . They would pay. They would ALL pay for what had happened to him. He would flip booths, tables... anything he could get his hands on. He’d scream silently for what seemed for hours -his thoughts disjointed and scattered- focused only on destruction and pain with only the rising sun stopping his quest for revenge. Leblanc looked like a disaster area when he was done with it.

“And then Robin Hood….”

Regret. Misery. Desolation. Pain. Each one a brick weighing down his mind. Sojiro-san was an innocent man. He had never done anything wrong. He would put each booth back, fix the tables as best he could all while doing his best to ignore the tears rolling down his face. Destruction was what he was good at, and the rest of him had to pick up the pieces and deal with the consequences. It wasn’t their fault…It was his own. It was all his fault. He could have been different. He could have been _so_ different. He could have been normal very easily. There were people in worse situations that had risen above it all and lead lives as upstanding citizens. But he chose not to. And this is where it got him. So all he could do was clean up the mess in Leblanc and desperately wish he could clean up the mess that was his life instead. 

“Finally you’re...You again. You’re Akechi”

Nothing. He felt _nothing_. He would go behind the bar and grab himself an empty cup of coffee and then go and sit at the exact same seat he always sat in. He would sit at this bar and hold this cup and desperately try to _remember_. He tried to remember things that used to make him happy. He remembered walking into pet stores just to pet the dogs and he remembered quiet evenings alone hunched over a chess board. He remembered breathless laughter and running through the corridors of a brightly colored casino. He remembered thinking that maybe…. _just maybe_ ….

And then he would remember blood and bullets and a very sudden thud and his happy thoughts burned before his very eyes, turning into the fire of revenge. What he had done in its name. What he had lost for it... Days spent traversing the worst humanity had to offer, looking and looking and by the time he finally found what he was looking for it’d chalk up to be another victory for **him** . For that **man** . That **monster. Akechi was the one going back to an empty shoebox apartment and that BASTARD-**

“Akechi! Akechi, please! Not Loki! I don’t want to talk to Loki! I want to talk to you!”

And suddenly Morgana’s voice brought him back. 

He hadn’t even realized the stripes appearing in his vision... the way the room had been getting smaller and smaller...But now he had and he knew that now wasn’t the time for that. 

Loki wouldn’t ruin this morning for him or for anyone else. 

Never again.

Akechi turned to face him yet again. 

_“I’m sorry.”_

He could feel the tears streaming down his face. His own face for once. For a second it seemed like he could feel the sunrise streaming in through the window and the smooth wood of the counter but it was just his imagination. The only thing he could truly feel was Robin Hood’s hand on his shoulder. He saw the cat’s expression droop, could feel the pain in its eyes and his gut reaction was to try and smile. It was the idol in him, forever trying to distract everyone from what was really lying below the surface of his facade. But that just seemed to make it sadder so he let his face drop to a neutral expression once more. 

“No. Don’t be sorry Goro... It’s okay.” 

He hadn’t heard his own first name in such a long time...He had nearly forgotten about it…

Only one person had ever called him that.

God...His one comfort. The one thing he had ever wanted and he couldn’t even have that.

He missed her.

How he wished he could see her again. 

But something in him knew that he wouldn’t. 

_“Morgana…. I’m curious. Do you know what’s after...this?”_

The cat took a second to process his silent question and once it did, it seemed to practically deflate.

“No...I don’t...” 

With his answer received, he went back to staring into his empty cup. 

“B-But...I don’t think you should stay here. I think there might be something good waiting for you...I don’t think you’ll agree with me but...I think you deserve it.”

If life was simply about what he did or didn’t deserve he would have died as an infant. He was a bastard child. An **unwanted** child. The only reason he had lived at all was that his mother preferred killing herself over killing him. 

She succumbed so easily. She gave her life away, believing that something better was waiting for her. 

How he wished he had the confidence to believe in such things. 

It was still strange. Thinking back on that moment when his entire life was held in the palm of his hand. It would have been so easy to pull the trigger right into _his_ face. He had already done it once before. But he didn't. Instead, he aimed at the alarm and taken the shot and suddenly a giant iron door was rising between him and the closest thing he had to salvation. And once it had closed he realized very quickly that he was going to die. He was going to die in that **bastard’s** palace, and he was going to die alone. 

“Akira cried for weeks...He’d just hold me and cry and ask me why some people did nothing but suffer…”

Why indeed? 

Why would some people be put on this earth only to waste every second they lived on it? 

“I-I don’t know if you know this...But we found out after you…”

The cat trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. If he rolled his eyes anymore they’d get stuck onto his eyelids. 

“Well, we found out that I was created out of the remnants of humanity’s hope for the world ...And there was such a small amount left but that small amount was all packaged into me...Into this form and...I just-I wish I had been there for you. When you needed me. I think I could have saved you.”

And Akechi didn’t know what to think about that but it didn’t matter because the stairs suddenly creaked and his mind went hazy and he knew it was happening again and there was nothing he could do. 

Morgana turned around and watched as Akira Kurusu descended the stairs, wiping his eyes and yawning. His grey sweatpants hung low on his waist and his shirt had ridden up over the night. The messy black hair was messier than usual and Morgana knew he was never going to get used to the lack of glasses. 

Akira descended lazily but upon seeing Morgana sitting up on the barstool the boy froze. 

“Is he here?”

Morgana turned back towards the door. 

The sun was up. 

Akechi was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I've got a bit more for this universe if you'd like to see it expanded. This follows the canon timeline where Akechi dies. He's haunting Leblanc and at this point in time, Akira has come back to Tokyo for the summer and brought Morgana with him. Morgana (being a cat) is the only one who can see Akechi (as well as the different forms his spirit takes) but he can't hear him. 
> 
> So let me know if y'all want to see more of this!
> 
> Also if you know me for my chatfic, lmfao I'm so sorry this is rlly sad.
> 
> EDIT: Sorry about the reupload! I was trying to change the bio and ended up....deleting....the entire fic.....like an idiot.


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